Set up your Chromecast on your iPhone and iPad with new official app

When Google launched the Chromecast, we knew from the outset that it was iOS compatible, but until now we've had to use our computers to set up the $35 dongle. That need not be the only way any more, as Google has now launched an official Chromecast app into the App Store allowing us the same privilege our Android using friends have been afforded, in that we can now set it up from an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

The app itself is extremely simple, but allows full set up and device management of your Chromecast from your iOS device. So far we're limited as to what we can do with a Chromecast, but YouTube and Netflix mirroring are both possible at present, along with mirroring Chrome tabs on your Mac or Windows PC. For more on the Chromecast, be sure to check out our full set up guide.

Set up your Chromecast on your iPhone and iPad with new official app

At the same time I don't like the fact that it is a strictly mirroring device and relies on the phone to provide the content. I love the fact that the Apple TV is a self contained device and my iPhone/iPad can be the remote. Doesn't kill my battery to use the Apple TV all night long. With handbrake/VLC I have imported all my TV Shows and older movies from DVD into iTunes. I then stream them from our iMac to the Apple TV. No mention of Chromecast doing that.

The only way I see Chromecast Challenging the Apple TV is for those who only need to mirror their phone. But for an extra $65($40 if you buy refurbished) you can get a more feature packed device.

"At the same time I don't like the fact that it is a strictly mirroring device and relies on the phone to provide the content."
The Chromecast does not rely on the device to provide the content. Think of the device as a remote control. It changes the channel to the content you want to watch. The content itself is streamed over the internet from Netflix, Youtube, etc... via your Wifi or Ethernet network (the device has nothing to do with it at that stage) Or, from your PC if you are doing screen mirroring.

Funny. Chromecast started life with no built-in AirPlay-like feature. Then a third-party app added an AirPlay-like feature. Then Google removed the API that enabled that third-party app to copy AirPlay.

Evidently Google wants total control over the content that can be played on Chromecast. AirPlay and that third party app would have let iOS users stream iTunes content from their devices to Chromecast. But no, that would turn it into a "second Apple TV" for users who already have an Apple TV. And that would mean zero Play revenue from a vast segment of the potential Chromecast market. And at $35, Chromecast needs to generate revenue from content.

So Google did the quickest, dirtiest fix: they removed the API in a software update.
Maybe someone should have thought this through before launch, no?

I'm not sure you understand chromecast a s iTunes content. For one: most iTunes content is protected and the app in question had no way to decrypt that content. Second, chromecast has little to so with google play, just a chrome tab and apps that support the cast.